Aggies work with Chinese students to design hospital

In the increasingly globalizing field of architecture, some Texas A&M students recently got a head start.

Students here collaborated with students at Southeast University in Nanjing, China, to design plans for an eye hospital in Puyang in Henan province.

"The earth is shrinking," said George Mann, director of Texas A&M's architecture-for-health studio."These students need to learn to work with one another."

The hospital, which could not exceed 25,000 square meters, would include inpatient and outpatient care. The plans were unveiled last month.

Also aiding in the project were three design firms and the University of Oklahoma, which had interior design students participate (Texas A&M doesn't have an interior design program).

The project involved about 70 students from the three universities. They met via teleconference. Communication on the Nanjing end was easy as most Chinese students speak English. Most of the American students, of course, needed translation.

"I'm afraid they're getting the edge on us," Mann said. "We have to work harder on our end, and learn more about them."

Mann said programs such as this collaboration expose students to the global competition.

Also helping in the project were Texas A&M faculty members Xuemei Zhu and Zhipeng Lu, who both graduated from Southeast University.